Kabul : Children account for one-third of civilian casualties in Afghanistan’s grinding conflict in the first three months of 2017, and are paying an increasingly high price in the fighting, a UN report said on Thursday in Kabul.
From January to March, 210 children were killed up 17 percent from the same period last year and 525 injured, out of a total of 2,181 civilian casualties (715 dead and 1,466 injured). The overall total is slightly down, by four percent, compared to the same period in 2016. Among women, 88 deaths were recorded, a figure that jumped 54 percent from last year, mainly due to aerial bombardments an increasing danger as the Afghan Air Force begins to carry out its own strikes.
Overall, the report showed 148 deaths and injuries from airstrikes in the first quarter, compared to 29 last year. “We are extremely concerned about the increase in the number of casualties among women and children, particularly deaths,” said the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which has documented civilian victims of the conflict since 2009.
The main cause of casualties remains fighting on the ground, claiming up 35 percent of the victims. The number of civilians fleeing fighting hit a record high last year, said the UN, with 600,000 internally displaced. AFP
